The classroom was quiet, and Edd was enjoying every moment of it. When surrounded by rambunctious, hyper-active teens, even a second of peace was hard-earned. Luckily, Edd had essentially hit the jackpot with his English teacher this year. There were many types of educators found within the Peach Creek school system; there were the apathetic instructors who sat at their desks and gave out worksheets, then there were the overly-enthusiastic teachers that tried much too hard to make their subject fun and appealing to youth. There were also the rare dry, sardonic mentors with a pessimistic outlook but a good sense of humor nonetheless.
Then there was Mrs. Hampton.
She was the stereotypical worst case scenario for most students - excluding Edd, for whom she was the ideal instructor.
Mrs. Hampton was perhaps the strictest woman that Edd had ever had the fortune to happen across. Her mere presence elicited the undivided attention of anyone and everyone within a half mile radius. Her countenance was invariably stern, playing out over a face wrinkled with age. Her hair was always pulled back into a tight bun – a ball of dark gray and tainted white from which not a single hair had the audacity to stray. Her outfits were variants of the same style of dress. Pressed, modest, and neat.
She was truly a worthy ruler for her class, who she seemed keen on controlling with an iron fist. There was no surer captain on this planet, and no leader more steadfastly confident in his unwavering power than Mrs. Hampton.
There was to be no unauthorized talking, as it was considered rude and disruptive to the learning process. This was perhaps the most important rule of Mrs. Hampton's uncompromising doctrine. Never one to shy away from enforcement, violators who spoke out of turn and without raising their hands would receive detention for insubordination.
But this would not be an issue with Edd. No, he enjoyed rule-following, and when he was rewarded with silence he was doubly motivated.
Unfortunately, this was not the case for everyone. For some bizarre reason that Edd wasn't able to comprehend, his fellow classmates were rather vexed by Mrs. Hampton's paramount rule of perpetual silence.
They tended to show their displeasure by making noise in any possible manner aside from speaking. Coughing, tapping, shifting, breathing heavily – Edd heard it all. Thus the room wasn't truly silent, but it was quiet, and that was all he supposed he could really ask for.
That was until a certain classmate decided to break the rule.
"Psst. Double D."
Edd glanced up from his notebook, where he had been happily diagramming a list of sentences. His gaze was redirected towards his neighbor, who was staring at him in return with a rather bored expression. Edd could only assume that his own was one of shock or disdain. Perhaps both.
"Shh," he murmured in as quiet of a whisper as he could conjure, "We aren't supposed to talk, Eddy…!"
The other boy merely shrugged, appearing disinterested with the notion of adhering to Mrs. Hampton's rigid guidelines. His posture was deplorable – he leant back with his shoulder blades on the back of the chair, his legs spread wide in the ultimate show of blatant disregard for anything even vaguely resembling proper etiquette.
Edd, however, was the epitome of the model student. He was well-aware of the manner in which he carried himself; every detail was taken into thorough consideration, even down to the manner in which he sat. His feet were flat upon the floor and roughly shoulder-width apart. His back was straight and off the chair, his dress shirt freshly-pressed and creaseless beneath his coffee cardigan. Edd was in stark contrast to his unkempt friend, despite their shared nickname.
Of course, this was something that he didn't really mind – their similar names were what sparked their initial friendship. Albeit, when Edd was first introduced to the neighborhood, the manner in which he was greeted was less than friendly. Though not explicitly malicious, Eddy was deceptive when he tricked Edd out of his money.
That was quite an odd day, however, what with the moving to the opposite side of the country. Edd could still recall the culture shock of moving up north. He was bewildered by the cool climate and the diverse accents – beforehand, he had never realized that he possessed a slight drawl. But that was quick to disappear, and as Edd spent more and more time in Peach Creek, he found that assimilation came easily.
It was almost natural back when he was young and malleable. Now that he'd grown up a bit, he wasn't quite as impressionable, and such a transition would be unthinkable. Luckily his parents showed no intentions of moving again, and it was certain that he would graduate at Peach Creek. This reassurance wasn't undervalued, because Edd knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would never be near as fortunate in finding friends.
Even if they weren't the best influence.
"Do you really want to just follow everything that bitch says? That's bogus."
Edd frowned as Eddy insulted their mentor and the policies that were making for quite a pleasant classroom experience. He paused to formulate a response, casting a wary glance towards the teacher as he did so. She wasn't looking, but defiling the rules behind her back made Edd feel guilty and abhorrent. He detesting doing such a thing, but it appeared that he had to violate a law in order to prevent further infractions. It was tough moral decisions such as these that stressed Edd out and made him on edge for some time afterwards. He certainly didn't appreciate being placed in this situation, and he was going to make his friend well-aware of his contempt.
"That is our teacher, Eddy!" he chastised in a breathless exclamation, "She's wise, and only trying to provide the best learning environment because she cares about our education! Do not insult her so."
Eddy breathed a heavy sigh in response, one that was much louder than the entirety of their fervent conversation thus far, and chanced earning the attention of Mrs. Hampton. Edd held his breath, observing the teacher's desk in ashamed trepidation. If it was revealed that he was taking part in such hooliganism, he would be marked as a troublemaker.
That thought was something that crawled out of the depths of Edd's nightmares. He had to separate himself from the others; he had to prove that he was a student, and not some easily-excited teenager with the attention span of a squirrel. There were far too many half-witted fools running amok, and Edd prided himself in being distinguished as a dignified young man of intellect and maturity – one that respected the law of a classroom and willingly ceded to an instructor's command for education's sake.
If even a small bit of that was taken away, Edd would be forced to reconsider his moral character and life thus far with an uncertainty of which he had never previously experienced.
Luckily, that delicate facet would be preserved for the time being, as Mrs. Hampton was so engrossed in grading papers that she didn't think much of Eddy's sharp exhalation. Edd was relieved to no end, but he didn't have a chance to scold Eddy further before the other continued.
"You're such a pushover, Double D. You should stop doing everything that people tell you to do." Eddy crossed his arms, staring at him with the same apathetic visage that had lasted throughout the course of their conversation. "What's the answer to number five?"
There was a short, almost astonished pause as Edd stared at him blankly.
"Excuse me?"
Eddy rolled his eyes, and for a heart-wrenching moment it appeared that he would sigh again, but Edd was once again spared by a whim. "Number five. What is it? The fuck is a… vernacular?"
Eddy squinted at his worksheet as if changing his visual perspective would prove useful in attaining the definition of a word so clearly over his head.
Edd frowned in disdain. Eddy was still working on a sheet from two days ago, and from the looks of it he still had quite a ways to go. Although academic dishonesty was far from something that Edd condoned, it wasn't considered cheating if Edd simply defined the word in question, thus opening the pathway for the inquiry to at least be understood. Besides, it could mean an end to Eddy's pestering and subsequent rule-breaking.
"A vernacular is someone's typical manner of speaking, and it can vary drastically from person to person."
There was another pause as Edd observed his friend, looking for any hint of recognition in his face. Sadly, there was not even a visible attempt made to learn. Not that Eddy was a thoughtful person regularly – he was far from Socrates – but there was a dull and uncaring element in his eyes, one that was even less urgent than normal.
A staccato exhalation emanated from Edd – one that was faint in volume, but efficient in professing his exasperation. He turned away from Eddy, looking upwards as he became aware of the room once more. A few of the other students were observing them intently; they'd noticed the hushed conversation, but they would not dare to comment on it.
Grateful for that fact, Edd returned to his own work, determined to not be distracted again for the duration of the class period.

It was lunch time before Edd saw Eddy again, this time accompanied by the familiar tall-statured third Ed. The two appeared from the line unceremoniously, and sat at Edd's table after spotting him alone. This isn't to insinuate that Edd was lonely – he had a plethora of friends and acquaintances, but he had removed himself from them in order to enjoy the passage of the meal in solitude.
But the other Eds appeared to have a different idea in mind.
Edd looked up at the two as they sat across from him, Eddy collapsing upon his chair and Ed descending with matching grace.
"Hey Sockhead," the former spoke as he manspreaded the fuck out of his chair, "what're you doing?"
Edd glanced towards his page, where he'd been wrapping up some extra credit for an algebra assignment not due for several more weeks. He gave a nonchalant shrug, followed by a soft click as he closed his pen. "Are you insinuating interest?" There was an almost snippy quality to his voice – he wouldn't descend into being rude, nor would he sound distinctly curt – but his demeanor obviously wasn't as cordial as usual.
Although he wasn't one to hold a grudge, Edd was wary around Eddy. The subtle edge to his voice was there merely to let the other know that he was on thin ice.
But this was a signal that Eddy did not pick up on – neither was the question. The inquiry floated above his head, and was thus ignored with unenthusiastic disregard.
Ed, however, wasn't satisfied with letting those big words hang in the air.
"What does that mean, Double D?"
Now it was Edd's time to heave a sigh – it was acceptable now that they were out of classroom territory. "Nothing, Ed," he responded, still sounding downtrodden, "don't worry about it." He then made to return to his aforementioned work, but Eddy stopped him.
"You're not supposed to be working. Jesus Christ, it's lunch." He leaned back, staring at his tray skeptically, "Or, that's what they call it. I don't know if this is even food." He took his spork – the district couldn't really afford to buy both spoons and forks – and proceeded to prod a browned disk that appeared to be an attempt at some sort of fried meat. Be it fish, beef, pork, or fowl wasn't discernable, and the object was too tough to impale with the small plastic spears of Eddy's utensil.
He soon stopped trying altogether, placing his dented and misshapen spork on the table with a contemptuous expression.
Edd opened a brown paper bag, the type of which he always stored his meals in, and produced an apple. He tore his sandwich in half, then gave the sustenance to his friend.
Eddy took it without a thank you – he never thanked anyone for anything – but the slight gratefulness he presented was interpreted; a small upward adjustment of the head, and a brief shared glance. Edd was about to ask Ed if he too required some alternative form of nourishment, but the guy was already tearing into his ambiguous food. His strategy for consuming it appeared to be simple – drown it in as much gravy as could be attained from the lunch ladies.
It was an amusing sight to behold, honestly.
Four years had passed since junior high, and hardly anything had changed. Eddy was still thinking up scams on a regular basis, though he acted on them less often. Edd was impeccably busy with his studies, which was no length astray from business as usual. As for Ed? Well, he was still Ed – a kind-hearted, lovable oaf with a taste for gravy.
For a while it seemed that they were almost back in middle school, but when Edd looked at it closely, he was forced to acknowledge the differences. Eddy was a cynical stoner that managed to escape being held back by mere chance, and Ed was a meat-headed jock with the grades to match.
Edd himself was more concerned with scholarships and the quest for academic excellence than anything, which meant that he was often stretched thin over long periods of time.
Yea, these days weren't near as leisurely as those gone by.
But Edd wouldn't have to endure them for much longer. He had eight months until graduation, where he would undoubtedly emerge as valedictorian. For nearly eight years Edd had the title in the bag; the esteemed golden sash basically had his name on it. He was at the top of his class by a wide margin, one that didn't show any sign of closing whatsoever.
Graduation was far from something that Edd was concerned about – but the same could not be said for the other two. And, although the other Eds were his friends, Edd didn't have the time to be their baby-sitter. They were probably going to go nowhere. They'd more than likely remain in Peach Creek for a long while after high school.
Edd couldn't wait to be out of the cul-de-sac and into the real world, contributing to society in a benevolent and influential manner. First he had to attain a higher education, and… Well, he'd recently sent an application letter to Princeton. He was keeping his fingers crossed.
But his two closest friends – the only other outcasts of sorts; one for stupidity, the other for crudeness, and he for intellect – would unfortunately fight to keep their heads above water in a professional setting. If Edd kept playing lifeguard with them, he'd end up drowning as well. They were poison, and he had to remove himself in order to appear more presentable – especially now that a top university would have him under scrutiny.
There was no room for error here. He had to be elite in order to make it into an elite university. Perception was exceedingly important, which was why Edd was so irritated with Eddy at that stunt in the classroom. If they had been caught, Mrs. Hampton would have placed them under her strict disciplinary action, which involved issuing an office referral in a horrible form of swift justice.
Edd's record was clean as a whistle – cleaner, even, because a whistle was typically full of spit. There was no way that it would be soiled now, not when he was finally on the home stretch. But he couldn't just sever ties with two guys he'd grown up with. They were the only ones that always accepted him – they'd all bonded over their similar names and less-than-esteemed social statuses. It would be ungrateful to forsake them, but distancing himself was necessary.
Yet again, Edd was faced with a tough moral decision, but this was much heavier than a simple manner of forbidden conversation. This was a major shift, and although Edd didn't want to think about it, he knew that he would probably have to hurt some feelings.
"Um, D? Earth to Sockhead…" Eddy snapped his fingers in front of Edd's eyes, effectively pulling him out of his meditative state of mind.
Edd blinked rapidly as he focused on Eddy, dropping his pen – he'd been staring into space with the course of thought.
"You okay man?" Eddy asked. Edd thought that he could almost detect a very faint hint of concern.
"No. Both of you are hindering me in my academic career, and you're both hopeless causes. We must part ways immediately."
Only he didn't say that.
Instead, Edd responded, "Oh. Yes, I'm fine." He averted his gaze, choosing to look at anything other than the two sources of deep emotional conflict.

That was the entire nature of things at the moment. Dodging conflict. Procrastinating. Edd was doing whatever he could to distract himself from what he knew he had to do. In any and every other situation, Edd would not delay. He approached everything with a cool-headed sense of logic that ruled out any aspect of prolonging what was necessary.
So why was it that he couldn't execute things now? Why was he hesitating the moment that emotions were involved? Why did he have to be so weak? Irrational? Stupid?
Why was he currently on his bed checking his email inbox when he should be texting his toxic friends to make them aware of his many grievances?
A distraction graced his eyes – one which brought his train of thought to a screeching halt.
He'd received an email from an unfamiliar address. 3301flfdgd .
Sigaint. Wasn't that a deep web email provider? Yes, Edd had recalled seeing it in some indie news outlet a while back… Well, no good could come of this. There were too many bad things associated with the deep web. Yes, some very intelligent people accessed and made use of that part of the internet – almost everyone who was on it was clever, really – but many of them were of horrid moral backgrounds and misused the technology for their own sick purposes.
Edd couldn't be mixed in with that crowd. Just like in class with Eddy, he could be seen as guilty by association. Only this would be much, much worse; what if the email was from a pedophile and contained images that he'd rather not see? Simply accessing that kind of material on his computer could land him in hot water.
He looked at the subject line, which in itself consisted of a single word.
Hello.
That didn't sound too malicious.
It wouldn't be too bad to just open it, right?
Edd bit his lip, thinking it over. Some of the worst viruses originated from the deep web. His phone could be hacked in a matter of seconds, and sensitive information such as his name and location could be stolen and placed into the wrong hands. And, as was aforementioned, it could be deviant pornography that would phase him for the rest of his life and result in his incarceration.
However, should either of these be the case, he was legally obligated to report it. As long as he did so, he wouldn't land in any trouble. Perhaps he should open the email, so that he could be the guinea pig and potentially sacrifice himself for the good of others.
With that in mind, Edd tentatively selected the message.

Hello. We are looking for highly intelligent individuals. To find them, we have devised a test. There is a message hidden in the image. Find it, and it will lead you on the road to finding us. We look forward to meeting the few who will make it all the way through. Good luck.

A file was attached, the name of which was only a jumbled mix of numbers.
There was no way Edd was going to open that. No, no, no. His adrenaline was already flowing through his veins from opening the message itself, and his heart was beating rapidly from the idea of what might happen if he downloaded anything from this stranger.
The message itself was peculiar, and Edd would be lying if he were to say that he wasn't perplexed. However, he didn't have time for this shenanigans, and he didn't want to be involved with anyone who felt the need to send such a statement from the anonymity shield of the deep web.
He went a bit against his better judgement in formulating a reply.

Hello. I do not know who you are, nor do I wish to become acquainted with you in this manner. I am sorry if I'm coming off as rude, but I do not approve of your means of communication. If you would like to contact me further, I would be more than happy to converse with you through a regular, standard email provider.
Although I commend you for your search of brilliant individuals, I'm afraid that I do not wish to participate. I have not, nor do I plan to open the file that you have sent me, as there is not enough description, and frankly, I do not know what lies therein.
I'm sorry, but I'm also sure that you can understand how this is a bit too risky and shady for a cautiously law-abiding citizen such as me to jump into.

Edd sent the email, then opened another tab with the intentions of browsing Reddit for a while. But what he couldn't account for was the quiet ringing of his mobile device that signaled another new message.
Surprised, Edd quickly returned to his email, staring at the response from the same stranger. It was received in a matter of seconds after Edd had sent his reply, which suggested that the stranger wasn't responding to Edd, but rather sending a follow-up message.
But the contents of this message were so utterly strange that Edd couldn't tell what it was meant as regardless.

You must evolve. You can't run from time.